Reading in Your Home School

What are you reading today?

Do you read aloud daily?  Even in high school- spending the time in an adventure together unites you in a common bond.

Are you excited about what you are reading or is it a task that must be accomplished?  If you are not excited about the story, will your children be excited?

Do you model reading in your personal life?

C.S. Lewis wrote, “no book is really worth reading at the age of 10 which is not equally ( and often for more) worth reading at the age of 50 and beyond”.
But what are the parameters for identifying great literature?
This is a really good question. Great literature books are how we challenge our children to become more thoughtful, discerning, and equipped for whatever God’s purpose for their life is.
Great literature lays the foundation of education that is full. It connects us with individuals that have great minds, great thoughts, great souls, and to people both past and present.

Here are a few quick tips for choosing great literature:
1.Choose authors who have not lost their childhood.
2.Find books where the characters are memorable
3.Find books that offer examples that we can follow
4.Find books that become our passion
5.Books that give purpose to life
6.Books that are capable of inspiring our children toward greatness.

If you need help, Gladys Hunt wrote a few resources – “ Honey for a child’s heart “ and “ Honey for teens heart”. They are both full of examples, critiques, and suggestions. There are many others who have made book lists and critiques if you prefer a different author or you can use one that goes with your Curriculum.

Make sure reading time and read aloud time is a priority. Are they important in your daily activities? Should we free up time to read more? Reading and listening to a story can open up a plethora of possibilities for discussions at the dinner table about your child’s character, their decision-making, historical time periods and even the creative ability to imagine alternate endings.

When your children read aloud, you know whether they understand punctuation, whether they understand the vocabulary that is in the book. By listening you can hear whether they understand inflection of voices that occurs when the author is using quotation marks. Great quotes in your reading can become today’s copy work.

Great literature has tremendous power. The moments we have to pour into the lives of our children are a very few in view of their lifetime. Each moment must be guarded and is priceless.

A quote from Glaspey, author of “Great Books of the Christian Tradition” :
“God Himself chose the medium of a book as HIs primary way to communicate the truth of His love and Grace.”

Happy Reading !

Thanksgiving Weekend Sale -25% off site wide

“Our Journey Westward” is having a SALE

Cindy West over at “ Our Journey Westward” is having a site wide sale over  Thanksgiving weekend.  If you have never tried adding Unit Studies to your day, this is the perfect time to try one.

Unit studies are great ways to infuse topics your children are totally fascinated with into your homeschool day.

Unit studies can be literature based, research based, nature based,  journaling based or just ways to include whatever your student is interested in primarily in the field of science.  We used Unit Studies especially in the winter, when things are cold, getting a little routine and we all need a boost.  I usually let my children pick the topics and find a study that helps them learn about that topic. Check out the website  and see what is there!  Our Journey Westward

There  are studies specifically designed for winter such as “Constant Conifers”, “Coping with Cold” and a few others.  Check them out, your kids will love them !

 

aff links are included

 

Holiday Shopping

holiday shopping Every year Christmas seems to sneak up on me, it is time for holiday shopping!

Invite a friend, hot drinks and snacks, meet other moms, get away to homeschool mom heaven for a few hours

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 12th , 2017 from 2-6pm

There is an event called “Holiday Shopping” on Kurriculum Korner’s Facebook page with more information and directions.
“Like”the Facebook page to get extra hours, art for preschool ideas, grandiloquent word of the day etc.

lots of literature, kids books, science kits, coloring books (Dover), Kids Discover magazines, etc
Let me know if you are coming so I make enough cookies!
I will have wrapping paper , if you want things kept as a surprise
Karen at the Kurriculum Korner

502-241-7264

 

Let’s Make a Science Kit, Avoid a Scavenger Hunt!

Let’s Make a Science Kit to keep in the closet or on the shelf for all those basic supplies that get used over and over again. How many times have you gone on a scavenger hunt for silly things like a marble or a piece of coated wire only to give up and not do the experiment?

Some science supplies are standard things that you can keep in a box so they are handy and ready to go. The kit won’t have the seeds or an ice cube in it but if you restock it, it may save some of the frustration of trying to amass a collection at the time the kids are eagerly awaiting a flashy explosion of a vinegar volcano.

Here are some things that should be in your non consumable kit:

clay

clothespins

coated wire

corks

a dowel

a magnifying glass

an eyedropper

magnets

paper clips of varying sizes

a marble

masking tape

mirrors

spools

a steel nail

iron filings

washers

a thermometer

tacks and straight pins

masking tape

Feel free to add any other things you may have

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It’s Convention Season Again-Some Motherly Advice?

It's Convention Season Again-Some Motherly Advice?

It’s Convention Season – Some Motherly Advice?

It is Convention season again and time for me to pass on a little motherly, old sage advice. Conventions are a wonderful time away for renewal and refreshment.  Often you come away with a strong sense of purpose and renewed appreciation of all the options and freedoms you have in this country.

Often you come away with all kinds of curriculum you never thought you needed.  Salesman are really good at their job, that’s why they have them and why they send them to conventions.  No doubt about it, new things are wonderful!  Someone created something you have dreamed about as the healer of all the problems, the resolver of differences, the stopper of tears, the be all end all.  Well, hopefully, whatever you purchase meets those expectations. If not, don’t be too disappointed. One thing will not work for every child.

Every child is unique, your family is unique, your situation is unique, your homeschool is unique.  Embrace it and press onward.  You may need to tweak the curriculum a little to fit your needs. Or, you may need to replace it.  Chalk it up to taking a chance and move on without regret.

I will share with you the best advice I ever received.

Ready?

1.Go to Convention with friends or acquaintances that will become friends.

2. Divide up the sessions, take notes, collect giveaways

3. Have a “show and tell” at dinner over a glass of wine or coffee.

That way, everyone hears all the news, the pitches and gets to feel like they really learned a lot by being there.

Convention can be a really wonderful bonding time.  We as home school families are perpetual learners, always searching for optimum things for our families.  Every attending is there because they love their children and they love the learning process.

Have fun, be careful, pray over choices before making an impulse purchase and enjoy the camaraderie of like minded people.

Probably see you there..

Karen at the Kurriculum Korner

 

 

Answering the homeschool critics

IMG_2946How do you respond to friends, relatives, neighbors when they question you about your homeschool?

How do you answer the homeschool critics in your life?

Critics will question your choice to homeschool. After all, we have one of the best schools in town right here. They will question your ability to teach your child. “Do you have a teaching degree or are you smart enough?” They will question your child being out with you in the middle of the day. Homeschool children do not go to school for 6 hours so if you need groceries, they go with you. They will question your choice of curriculum. “Why are you not using …. it’s the best?” They will question all the little details of your day. They question your choices because your choices cause them to question their own choices and more importantly their own answers. Sometimes it is as simple as “friendly conversation”, sometimes it is way more than that.
So how are you going to answer the “nosey” cashier? How are you going to answer your neighbors bragging about winning the school science fair? How will your child answer “what grade are you in?”
Everyone will have a different answer. Talk with your family and come up with some answers so that you are prepared for that day- it will happen one of these days.

You are the Principal

You are the Principal and Lead Teacher, your husband is the Superintendent of Schools. You decide what time of the day you homeschool, what materials you will use, whether you have a designated school space. You even decide if you are going to do every single redundant grammar sentence or just some because you know the child knows the answers and does not need to beat it into the ground. It is something to think about ahead of time. Someone at some point, is going to question you about little or big things.  Be prepared.

Love,

Karen

P.S.

Here are a few books to encourage you in your  homeschool journey

1. Things We Wish We’d Known 

2. But What About Socialization? Answering the Perpetual Home Schooling Question

3. the Homeschooling Father 

affiliate links are enclosed and help keep the lights on

HFHG Booksale Hints

The HFHG sale is FRIDAY THE 27th
1.)I cannot take ALL the things you do not sell there…In fact, I want the things that you and everyone else would come here for- Apologia, All About Spelling and Reading, Math U See, Saxon, Literature, CEC books (Caveat—they must be on the list for the upcoming year or I cannot take them) etc.
2.) PLEASE use removable stickers for prices…file folder labels ruin the cover of books and are not removable.
3.) I cannot sell your book in the shop or online if it is missing pages, cd’s, or has writing or file folder stickers across the front of it. Goo gone is a great product but does not remove file folder labels without taking half the cover with it…
4.)Know your prices, do not over price. Most of the things in the shop are 1/2 retail.. Abeka and BJU are very very prevalent in the resale market so mark your things accordingly. Take your catalog with you so you know what edition, author etc you need.
5.) take lots of SMALL bills

Karen at the Kurriculum Korner
502-241-7264
email: kurriculumkorner@msn.com

The Build Your Bundle Sale is almost OVER

By now you have probably  heard about the “Build Your Bundle” sale. If you are curious and have not taken the time to look yet, here is a link to take you to the sale.

https://www.buildyourbundle.net/affiliates/idevaffiliate.php?id=601

I am excited by this sale because there are a huge number of contributors at really great prices. I wish they had done this when I was buying curriculum. Back then, almost thirty years ago, there were not as many great options and what choices there were, very rarely were on sale.

The bottom line is that if you are interested, I want to make sure that you are aware of what is in the bundles and that you have the opportunity to purchase them and don’t miss the deadlines.

The sale is actually over on May 23rd (tomorrow- Monday) at 11:59pm so time is running out. I am told by the organizers that there are shopping carts with over six figures worth of inventory in them awaiting payment. That is a lot of choices and a lot of great items !

Please be careful and read the contents of the bundles, some of the things are ebooks and downloadable items, not physical books. There are pre made bundles including Charlotte Mason, Homeschool Helps, Homemaking, Early Childhood, Fine Arts, Elementary and Middle school, Character Building, Brothers and Sisters. Etc.  Or, you can make your own !

All have wonderful resources in them or you can bundle your own from the many choices and options. All the details and options are on the website, and the link was above.

There is even a bonus bundle worth over $250 that comes with every purchase…those details are here:

Free Bundle of Bonuses with ANY purchase at the Build Your Bundle Sale ~ over $250 in FREEBIES! Copy and paste the following link

www.buildyourbundle.net/affiliates/idevaffiliate.php?id=601_85_3_84 #homeschool #curriculum #BYB2016 (aff)

Check it out, see what all the options are..
Karen at the Kurriculum Korner

The Build Your Bundle Sale is Here!

The 3rd annual Build Your Bundle Sale is AMAZING!! — choose from one of 15 bundles pre selected for special interests such as a Charlotte Mason Bundle, a Brother and Sister Bundle, a Copywork Bundle, an Early Elementary Bundle or the Homeschool Helps Bundle for examples…The other option is to build your own bundle- how fun is that! Check it out- it is worth the look!
Just look at some of the great free stuff that comes with a purchase–Map Trek, Homeschooling with Dyslexia, A Child’s Geography, Math Mammoth, Handwriting practice and Prompts etc… Click through the picture below- it takes you to the sale–It is one week only MAY 16-23, DON’T MISS IT!

News from the Kurriculum Korner

Have been working on payout checks for days!! There were over 130 checks for $6500.00
some were really large and some were small but lots of your books found new homes this summer!
Please do not throw the checks away! They come from my online banking account so they are not handwritten. They are the kind of checks that you have to fold and pull the tabs to open. Remind your husbands not to throw away any mail this week and next. There is a few days pause from when I send it through the bank to when it gets mailed and then there is the usual postal time.

Remember, I cannot give you a list of what has sold. By looking at the above numbers, you can guess why. I would have to hand write all the checks, envelopes and purchase stamps ( almost 50 cents a piece). If I mailed you a check and you throw it away, you moved without telling me, or the post office loses it, I cannot replace it until it is re added into my checking account after 90 days.

I will keep everyone posted about my winter hours on the loop and on facebook. I will close for regular hours in the next month (date not yet determined) but will be here for appointments if you need things or want to send a new homeschooler my way. I am not going out of town (not planned anyway) so let me know if you are still looking or want to change your curriculum..

Happy Fall Y’All,

Karen at the Kurriculum Korner
502-241-7264
Regular hours Wed & Thurs 1-5
6400 Clore Lane, Crestwood, KY 40014
cash, checks and paypal
www.kurriculumkorner.com